- First Edition
- Hardcover
- Used

Seller: Chapter 1, Johannesburg, GAU, South AfricaChapter 1
AbeBooks seller since March 29, 2004
Condition: Used - Very good
£ 4.56
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
Heavy book may require extra postage unless posted within South Africa. The dust jacket is a little shelf rubbed. The boards are in good condition. Internally, there are no markings or inscriptions, and the pages are immaculately clean and complete. Tightly bound and presented beautifully in cellophane. The binding is excellent. GK. Our orders are shipped using tracked courier delivery services.
Seller Inventory # 6pjyq
- Title
- The Cleft
- Author
- Lessing, Doris May
- Publisher
- Fourth Estate (GB)
- Publication year
- 2007
- Condition
- Very Good
- Dust jacket
- Very Good
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 0007233434
- ISBN 13
- 9780007233434
- Edition
- First Edition.
- Item weight
- 16 ounces
Doris Lessing, one of England's finest living novelists, invites us to imagine a mythical society free from sexual intrigue, free from jealousy, free from petty rivalries: a society free from men.
An old Roman senator, contemplative at his late stage of life, embarks on what will likely be his last endeavour: the retelling of the story of human creation. He recounts the history of the Clefts, an ancient community of women living in an Edenic, coastal wilderness, confined within the valley of an overshadowing mountain. The Clefts have no need nor knowledge of men – childbirth is controlled, like the tides that lap around their feet, through the cycles of the moon, and their children are always female. But with the unheralded birth of a strange, new child – a boy – the harmony of their community is suddenly thrown into jeopardy.
At first, in their ignorance, the Clefts are awestruck by this seemingly malformed child, but as more and more of these threateningly unfamiliar males appear, now unfavourably nicknamed Squirts, they are rejected, and are exposed on the nearby mountainside; sacrificed to the patrolling eagles overhead, the sentinels of their female haven. Unbeknownst to the Clefts, however, these baby males survive, aided by the very eagles sent to kill them, and thrive on their own on the other side of the mountain. It is not until an unusually curious young Cleft named Maire goes beyond the geographical, and emotional, divide of the mountain that this disquieting fact is uncovered – a discovery that forces the Clefts to accept and realign themselves to the prospect of a now shared world, and the possible vengeance of the wronged males.
In this fascinating and beguiling novel, Lessing confronts head-on the themes that inspired much of her early writing: how men and women, two similar and yet thoroughly distinct creatures, manage to live side by side in the world, and how the specifics of gender affect every aspect of our existence.
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
Doris Lessing is one of the most important writers of the second half of the twentieth century. Her first novel, ‘The Grass is Singing’ was published in 1950, and since then her international reputation has flourished. Among her other celebrated novels are ‘The Golden Notebook’, ‘The Summer Before the Dark’, and ‘Memoirs of a Survivor’. Her most recent works include ‘Love, Again’ and two volumes of her autobiography, ‘Under my Skin’, and ‘Walking in the Shade’.
"About the title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Chapter 1
Johannesburg, GAU, South Africa
AbeBooks seller since March 29, 2004
Shipping rates from South Africa to U.S.A.
| Item | 10 to 15 business days | 5 to 10 business days |
|---|---|---|
| First item | £ 21.46 | £ 25.75 |
Payment methods
- Paypal
Store description
Chapter 1 trades out of three premises that are all in the Johannesburg area. Our emphasis is providing quality books at highly competitive prices. A large (and continuously growing) selection of our books are listed on various websites on the internet. We post on a daily basis to all parts of the world. All our books are parcelled in tissue paper, bubble wrap, card board and strong brown paper. If the book has a dust jacket it is provided with a protective cellophane sleeve. We supply a tracking number on every parcel that we post. We specialise in Modern First Editions, Rhodesiana, Africana and other rare and out of print books. We are always looking to buy interesting and unusual books and libraries in Johannesburg and Cape Town. We are prepared to travel within the greater Johannesburg and Cape Town area if the quantity warrants it.…
Specialty
Rhodesiana, other rare books on AfricaSeller's business information
Chapter 1
Terms of sale
Chapter 1 trades out of three premises that are all in the Johannesburg area. Our emphasis is providing quality books at highly competitive prices. A large (and continuously growing) selection of our books are listed on various websites on the internet.
We post on a daily basis to all parts of the world. All our books are parcelled in tissue paper, bubble wrap, card board and strong brown paper. If the book has a dust jacket it is provided with a protective cellophane sleeve. We supply a tracking number on every parcel that we post.
We specialise in Modern First Editions, Rhodesiana, Africana and other rare and out of print books. We are always looking to buy interesting and unusual books and libraries in Johannesburg and Cape Town. We are prepared to travel within the greater Johannesburg and Cape Town area if the quantity warrants it.
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